Two home matches will kick off the new year and the start of the second edition of the Nations League in front of our own fans, ready to support Andrea Soncin's Women's National Team. After the draw, carried out last Thursday at Nyon, this morning the group stage fixtures were made official. The Azzurre, who are in Group 4 of League A, will begin their campaign on 21 and 25 February, hosting Wales and Denmark. On 4 and 8 April they will face a double away trip to Scandinavia, the first to Sweden and the second to Denmark. From the end of May to the start of June they will face the yellow and blue side again and take part in the final game in Wales. 

THE OPPONENTS. Two of the teams in Group 4 are above Italy in the FIFA Rankings. Sweden, fifth in the world rankings, while Denmark find themselves in 12th spot after a brief dip of form coinciding with the unfortunate 2023 World Cup campaign. The Azzurre faced Sweden in the first edition of the Nations League, losing 1-0 away and then drawing 1-1 on the return leg in Malmö. Previous meetings have been better from Sweden, who have won on 17 out of the 27 meetings (Italy's last win came in 2018). 

There have also been 27 meetings with Denmark, beaten on six occasions, comprised of the last clash two years ago at the Algarve Cup. Wales pose a different sort of challenge, they are 29th in the FIFA Rankings, who have lost on the three occasions that they have faced Italy (1978, 2018 and 2019). 

THE FORMAT OF LEAGUE A. The top two sides in each group will remain in League A for the European qualification phase for the 2027 World Cup; the third-place team will face off in a play off against the second-place team in League B groups (the winners will be placed into League A, the losers will be placed into League B). The fourth-place teams will be automatically relegated to League B. The group winners of League A - composed of 16 teams like League B, while League C is made up of 21 - will qualify for the Finals, which, compared to the first edition, will be organised with home and away matches (there will also be a third-place play-off).  

LEAGUE A GROUPS

Group 1: Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Scotland
Group 2: France, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland 
Group 3: Spain, England, Belgium, Portugal
Group 4: Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Wales

GROUP FOUR SCHEDULE

Friday 21 February: ITALY vs. Wales, Denmark vs. Sweden
Tuesday 25 February: ITALY vs. Denmark, Wales vs. Sweden
Friday 4 April: Sweden vs. ITALY, Wales vs. Denmark
Tuesday 8 April: Denmark vs. ITALY, Sweden vs. Wales 
Friday 30 May: Denmark vs. Wales, ITALY vs. Sweden
Tuesday 3 June: Sweden vs. Denmark, Wales vs. ITALY